Deguchi Makiko

This workshop introduced the construct of microaggressions (microinsults, microassaults, and microinvalidations), as well as activities, readings, and discussion questions that will help generate interest and thoughtful discussion on the topic of microagressions in the area of race, gender, and sexual orientation. During the workshop, emphasis will be placed on microaggressions within the context of Japanese society.

This cross-cultural study compared Japanese and American college students' perception and emphasis of the eyes and mouth in communicating and understanding emotion. Yuki, Maddux, & Matsuda (2007) suggested that Americans tend to determine the other's emotion through the shape of the mouth, whereas Japanese tend to look at the eyes. This idea was investigated by asking Japanese and American college students how likely they were to approach a stranger wearing sunglasses vs. a mask, how likely they were to mask their own emotions by wearing sunglasses vs. a mask. Results revealed a significant difference in the likelihood of approaching strangers as well as masking their own emotions. Culturally, the Japanese are socialized to hide their emotion and to mediate their expression based on the context. This study revealed that there is a significant difference in the relationship between the cultural rules (Matsumoto and Ekman, 1989) and facial expression for Japanese and American students.

This study examined the racial identity development of Japanese human rights activists to see whether the stages of the white racial identity development model (Helms, 1995) are relevant for racially privileged groups in other cultures, in this case, Japan. Six Japanese activists (ages 44 to 79) were interviewed. Both similarities and differences were found in their process of coming to terms with their racial identity. Several narratives contained a gentaiken (a formative experience) of realizing that one is part of the majority group. Other narratives evolved around recognizing that the Japanese and the minority group zainichi Koreans have different tachibas (positionalities) and thus working for the same cause but separately. Differences will be discussed in the context of Japan’s history of racism.